Description

The black-red-gold tricolor with the arms shifted slightly toward the fly. This was abolished in 1933, but readopted by the Federal Republic without the restriction to land in 1950 and is still in use.Norman Martin, 1998

The state flag was introduced with the regulation of 11 April 1921, finally in force 1 January 1922. It was the national flag with the Reichsschild (imperial shield) in the center, slightly offset to the hoist. Proportion 2:3. It was the service flag for all Reichsbehörden or authorities of the (whole) empire, thus not to be used by the authorities of the Länder or municipalities. It was also used by state ships on inland waters. The same flag, only in 3:5 proportion, has been readopted by the Federal Republic with the regulation of 7 June 1950. Sources:

Imperial ShieldReichsschild

Image by Marcus Schmöger

Variant in an Official PublicationQuestionable

2:3 Image by Marcus Schmöger, 22 February 2002

The exact shape of the eagle is a difficult question. Usually this is shown as used nowadays on German state flags and ensigns. However, as there was a new pattern in 1927 for the coat-of-arms and service plates, one of the official publications [rmi30] shows the new eagle. As none of the other publications mention a change in the eagle pattern for the flags, I assume this was a mistake in this publication. Source: Reichsministerium des Innern 1930 [rmi30].Marcus Schmöger, 22 February 2002